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Dictator of Rome #1
Dawn of The Eagle
Rome 400 BCE. Greed, envy and broken trust.A prophecy of fame is spoken and the commander of the legions wants it for himself, whatever the cost.Driven by the constant march of the enemy the young Marcus Furius finds he is a natural leader of men as war rages and battles are hard-fought. With success comes jealousy and resentment. Hatred soon follows.Fighting to retain his dignity, to see Rome smash her foes and to become the man for whom the prophecy is spoken, Marcus Furius must learn to be a soldier and a statesman if he is ever to become Dictator of Rome.This is the first book in the saga of the life of a real historical figure, Marcus Furius Camillus, the greatest General of Rome before Julius Caesar.
- GenresHistorical FictionRoman
151 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2014
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27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 26, 2016
I'm a sucker for historical fiction, especially when it is not merely used as a setting for a romance or whatever. I like it when the history drives the book, so when I came across this one, I used my monthly Prime borrow to grab it. It didn't disappoint.
The book takes place in the early days of the Republic, before it has even consolidated the central part of Italy. The kingdom had just been overthrown, and a new system of government installed, although not with support from all the patrician families. The book centers on Marcus Furius Camillus, a very real person who held high positions in the Republic. Not much is know of his earlier life, and the author gives us a reasonable version of Marcus' first taste of warfare as a 15-year-old.
The author obviously did quite a bit of research to write the book. The detail in the book is amazing, from clothing to gods to weapons to ceremonies to food. There were a few hiccups (the Romans of the Republic did not have chain mail, for example, so a horse would not have worn it), but the bulk of what was written was accurate. There was a little juggling of the timeline, but the author acknowledged it and explained it as a tool to bring various historical figures of the era into contact with each other.
One thing that fascinated me was the importance of augury and portents to the Romans of the era. I knew that on an intellectual level, but reading the book brought this more to a visceral level. It made me realize just what it meant to the people of this time.
The action was well-written and believable. The battle scenes, of which there are many, did not grow stale.
A handicap in writing historical fiction is that the reader knows if a person will live through a tense situation. This makes it difficult to create literary tension. There were a number of characters in the book that I knew had to survive to go onto other things, but the author did a good job of putting up temporary roadblocks, or in one case, referred to one character by his earlier name, not the name by which we now know him.
The book was not perfect, though. I think it could have made good use of a copy editor or proofreader. There were a fair number of simple typos and even a few mistakes, such as on one page, the day was hot, and on three pages later, it was a cold day. I didn't see a need for a content editor (or a different one), though, as I think the author excelled in this area.
This was an exciting, interesting book, one I really enjoyed. I highly recommend it and look forward to read the coming volumes.
The book takes place in the early days of the Republic, before it has even consolidated the central part of Italy. The kingdom had just been overthrown, and a new system of government installed, although not with support from all the patrician families. The book centers on Marcus Furius Camillus, a very real person who held high positions in the Republic. Not much is know of his earlier life, and the author gives us a reasonable version of Marcus' first taste of warfare as a 15-year-old.
The author obviously did quite a bit of research to write the book. The detail in the book is amazing, from clothing to gods to weapons to ceremonies to food. There were a few hiccups (the Romans of the Republic did not have chain mail, for example, so a horse would not have worn it), but the bulk of what was written was accurate. There was a little juggling of the timeline, but the author acknowledged it and explained it as a tool to bring various historical figures of the era into contact with each other.
One thing that fascinated me was the importance of augury and portents to the Romans of the era. I knew that on an intellectual level, but reading the book brought this more to a visceral level. It made me realize just what it meant to the people of this time.
The action was well-written and believable. The battle scenes, of which there are many, did not grow stale.
A handicap in writing historical fiction is that the reader knows if a person will live through a tense situation. This makes it difficult to create literary tension. There were a number of characters in the book that I knew had to survive to go onto other things, but the author did a good job of putting up temporary roadblocks, or in one case, referred to one character by his earlier name, not the name by which we now know him.
The book was not perfect, though. I think it could have made good use of a copy editor or proofreader. There were a fair number of simple typos and even a few mistakes, such as on one page, the day was hot, and on three pages later, it was a cold day. I didn't see a need for a content editor (or a different one), though, as I think the author excelled in this area.
This was an exciting, interesting book, one I really enjoyed. I highly recommend it and look forward to read the coming volumes.
August 26, 2024
Dictator of Rome - Camillus Book1
As an ardent fan of historical novels I have to say that this one ranks right up there. A great story with a cast of great characters. The story line is well woven and kept my interest throughout. Well worth the read.
As an ardent fan of historical novels I have to say that this one ranks right up there. A great story with a cast of great characters. The story line is well woven and kept my interest throughout. Well worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews